Banned In The UK

Have been watching the documentaries for Channel 4's superlative Banned In The UK season back on tape. Managed to see a few of the movies too: Bad Lieutenant, Kids and Lars Von Triers groundbreaking Dogme95 film, The Idiots (pictured here) among the best. I am dead against censorship of any kind and find hard-sell advertising much more offensive than any taboo that is approached in an intelligent way by film-makers and artists. Political censorship - as was explored in one of the docs, focusing on The Falklands War, among others, and the Conservative government's shutdown of all information to the media, was fascinating - I'm sure it happens all the time, for better or worse, especially concerning the middle-east currently. I can't stand the idea of people in power dictating what we can and can't know, see or do within the confines of the law; consenting adults should be able to choose for themselves and form their own opinions. The furore that surrounds religious references is most bizarre of all - Jerry Springer The Opera, The Passion of the Christ and that play (I forget it's name) that had the Sikh's up in arms outside Birmingham Rep theatre, to name a few - taking offense at fiction to the point of violence is just ignorant. An intelligent dialogue caused by controversy is often the best result of censorship. If something is gratuitous, obscene or otherwise potentially hurtful, then ignore it if you must, confront it by all means, but for God's sake don't ban it! And now I'll jump off this soapbox... Click title for excellant site on the debate of free speech. Kx